It Was Always You
by wegetalong
Summary: Tensions begin to reach an all-time high at Litchfield as true motives come to light and new secrets are revealed. Friendships and loyalties are put to the test and new enemies make themselves known as the power shifts within the prison after the events in season's 2 finale.
1. Chapter 1

Hi everyone! This story starts where season 2 left off, so obviously it contains spoilers and you shouldn't read it if you haven't finished the new season yet! This will focus a lot on Alex/Piper but I really love all the characters, so I'm also going to continue to plot line from all the drama that we saw unfold with the other characters in season 2. The first chapter starts off with Piper thinking to herself, but things pick up in the next chapter. Any reviews would be greatly appreciated!

**_Chapter 1_ - More Than A Memory**

Piper Chapman wasn't the boldest individual. As she laid flat in her bunk staring at the ceiling and listening to the sound of Red sawing logs in the next bunk, her mind was racing with thoughts. Thoughts of regret, thoughts of worry. Thoughts of hope, thoughts of anticipation. Piper Chapman wasn't the most consistent individual either.

It had been just six hours earlier that she had made the call to Polly to tell her that Alex had been violating her parole. It had been something that she had done on a wimp, out of desperation. Though she had hidden behind a facade of cold, bitter resolve for the better part of the past few months, there had been a bitter, aching loneliness chipping away at her for the entire time.

It had begun the second that she'd had that dreadful call with Larry just after she had told Alex that she was done with it all. In her mind, she knew that she wasn't done with it all. Even as she had picked up the phone to call Larry that day, though she had told Alex with her words that she picked Larry, she felt a tugging in her head that pulled her right back to Alex. The uncertainty of it all had gotten the best of her. It was something that had happened to her before. It happened the first time that she left Alex, and it had been running through the back of her mind the entire time that she began to reconnect with Alex.

It all terrified her. The thoughts of giving up on her engagement which she had been so excited about upon entering this damned prison. The thoughts of everything that she had become over these past ten years seperated from Alex-slowly chipping away as she fell harder and harder for her all over again. The thoughts of this new, old person that she was becoming. The thoughts of what would happen after her time in this hellhole was all over.

Piper knew she wasn't the best at handling high stress situations. The impact of every little thing that had happened inside and outside of these walls had begun to show from the second it all began. From the moment she first saw Alex on that first week of her sentence. It seemed like no matter what happened to Piper, everything always came back to Alex. At least, that's how it had been recently. She had worked so hard for ten years to build a new life after she left Alex in a furry of frustrations and tears, but she knew once she was sentenced to serve time for their escapades together that this woman had changed her life once again.

There had been a time when Piper saw nothing but good in Alex. A time when they had first began dating and Piper thought that Alex's remark about working for an international drug cartel had just been a sarcastic remark to get a reaction from her on their first encounter. Piper had believed her when she first said it, but when Alex laughed, she had all but forgotten her words as the days went on and she'd gotten to know her. They went on seeing each other for about a month before Alex finally told her that it had been the truth. During that month, Piper felt herself begin drawn into Alex's world at warp speed and she didn't want to pull away.

There was something mysterious and mystifying about her, something so drastically different from Piper herself. As she spent more and more time with her, she fell fast, and she continued to fall until everything came crashing down as Alex began to get sucked further and further into her work. Piper felt herself growing further apart from Alex everyday, and it seemed that everything came to an end all at once.

It had hurt, but Piper had felt defeated over the entire situation at that point, and she found the strength to move on. From that point until she received the news of her sentence, Alex Vause had been nothing but a memory. Now as she sat here inside these walls with Alex's stack of letters at the foot of her bedside, it felt as if Alex Vause had become her whole world again, and she held the thought of her close as she drifted off to sleep.

* * *

That's it for the first chapter! Keep reading - like I said, the following chapters are less inner monologue and more action and drama. ;)


	2. Chapter 2

Hey everyone! Here's chapter 2. Let me know how you like it so far and maybe some ideas of what you would like to see happen and I'll see if I can work them in!

**_Chapter 2_ - Another Brick In The Wall**

When morning came, Piper felt no less exhausted than she had the night before.

As she dragged herself out of bed and into the bathroom for her morning shower, her muscles ached from that shitty mattress and her mind felt no better.

"'ey, Chapman. Rough night?" Piper heard a familiar voice behind her and turned around in a fog. Even though Piper was not in the mood to talk, Nicky had always brought a smile to her face even during the most stressful times.

"God yes. I slept like shit," Piper ran her hands through her hair and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and as she became more alert, she could see Nicky was excited about something.

"So I see. Did you hear what went down last night?"

"No, what happened?"

Black Cindy came walking through the hall past the shower line and Nicky leaned in closer and spoke in a quieter tone. "Vee's dead."

"What?!" Piper hadn't meant to yell out, but she hadn't exactly expected Nicky's news to be anything this heavy. Usually most of Nicky's "news" revolved around which of the new inmates she had hooked up with in the chapel the day before.

"Shhh!" Nicky hushed her as Yoga Jones entered the next available shower ahead of them. "Geez Chapman. Can't make anything inconspicuous with you!"

"God, what happened? That's awful."

"Is it? The woman made this place into even more of a hell than it already is. I don't wish death on anyone, but not every death is a tragedy, ya know?"

"I guess so... What happened to her?" Piper had heard about Vee's escape last night, but she hadn't thought that something like this would happen.

"I'll tell you at work. Can't say it here with everyone around," Nicky told her. Finally the next shower became available and Piper began to make her way over.

After her shower, Piper headed to the cafeteria for breakfast. She made her way over to her usual table and sat across from Morello, who wasn't her usual chipper self this morning. She knew Morello had always been sensitive, but she didn't think her and Vee were close.

"I'm guessing you heard about Vee?" Piper didn't know what else to say to start the conversation as she stared down at her oatmeal, which she didn't have the stomach to tolerate this morning.

"Of course, the whole place is buzzing about it, y'know" Morello answered in her thick accent. "I'm not worried about her though. It's Miss Rosa."

"Oh yeah, how'd her appointment go yesterday? I haven't heard anything from her," Piper had always had a soft spot for Miss Rosa ever since she had been one of the first people that she'd met on her first day here.

"Chapman, no one tells you anything around here, do they?" Piper just stared at Morello as she managed to put a spoonful of oatmeal into her mouth. "Miss Rosa hit her with the truck."

Piper nearly choked on her oatmeal. "Jesus! How did she get ahold of the truck?" Piper could see the regret on Morello's face as she answered her.

"I gave it to her when we got back to camp yesterday. She got bad news... the doctor said she only had weeks. I just wanted her to be able to end things her own way... to not have to die here... I didn't-" Morello broke down into tears before she could go on, right as Nicky walked up and took her seat next to her.

"There, there kid. It's okay, you didn't know." Morello had leaned her head onto Nicky's shoulder as Nicky's eyes focused on Vee's usual table where her friends sat in silence with their heads buried in their hands.

Piper's mind drifted back to Alex and where she might be right now, and while she knew now was not the time to bring it up, she couldn't take her mind off of it. Piper saw Bennett approaching their table as she glanced up from her tray.

"Inmate. Caputo wants to see you about finding you a work replacement for today."

"Jesus Christ, can't she get a day off?" Nicky asked when Morello remained unresponsive to his words.

Piper could tell from Bennett's face that he wished he could comply with the request. "Sorry," he said quietly. "I don't make the rules. Just finish your breakfast and head over to his office when you're done." He nodded and walked away with his hands in his pockets, returning to his spot by the door.

"I'm gonna go. I don't have much of an appetite this morning," Morello picked up her tray and began to get up.

Nicky grabbed her shoulder and turned her around. "Hey, it'll be okay kid. We're here. Hang in there, okay?" Morello nodded and went on her way.

Nicky watched her walk away with a look of a sympathy on her face. "Poor kid. She's got a big heart, ya know? I think she feels like the whole thing's her fault."

"I don't blame her. I'd be upset too." Piper sipped her water, which was luke warm as always. Just another thing that she had taken advantage of until she'd ended up here-ice cold, refreshing water.

"What's on your mind, Chapman? You've looked weird all morning. Distant." Nicky put down her cup and looked across the table at her.

"I'm okay. I don't wanna bother anyone with my problems. Not with everything going on.."

"Hey, we all got problems. Tell me." Nicky responded, and Piper hesitated. "Well? We don't got all day."

"It's Alex. I called my best friend and told her that Alex was violating her parole yesterday," Piper told her.

"Well shit!" Nicky responded as her eyes bugged out of her head. "That's cold, Chapman. You miss her bad enough to screw her over like that?"

Piper felt herself getting defensive. "It's not like that. She was going to leave the state and go God-knows-where. She was in danger. I couldn't sleep if I didn't know where she was."

Nicky chuckled. "Well by the looks of it you didn't sleep anyway. You got it bad, Chapman. You two confuse me."

This wasn't the first time Piper had heard Nicky said something along those lines. "I just miss her," she said.

"Well, not to worry. You'll be seeing her soon now," Nicky smirked as she gulped down her water.

Piper heard chuckling from behind her. "Hey Chapman. Heard your girl toy is on her way back!" Big Boo said slyly as she slid onto the seat next to Piper.

"How did you hear? I haven't told anyone except for Nicky just now," Piper was confused.

"Eh, I was listening when you were on the phone. Walked by right as you said it. Nothing gets past me, Chapman," she leaned in closer to her and winked.

Piper rolled her eyes. "Well, I'm glad everyone else is getting amusement out of this. I've been worried sick about it. What if she hates me?"

Nicky smirked. "It wouldn't be the first time one of you has hated the other. That's never stopped you from, ahem, making up afterwards," Nicky answered as Big Boo let out a laugh.

"Who says you have to tell her it was you who ratted her out?" Big Boo asked as she slipped a piece of toast over to Little Boo.

Piper thought about what Big Boo had said and looked at Nicky. "You don't think she'd believe that, do you?"

Nicky shrugged. "You don't know how things went down. Maybe she'll think her parole officer was keeping tabs on her. That is what they're supposed to do, y'know."

Piper blinked and stared at her. "His name is Davey Crockett. Alex said herself that he's a joke."

Nicky laughed and looked back at Chapman. "Are you fucking kidding me? That's classic. Davey Crockett. That's fuckin' hilarious."

Piper looked around the room, half wondering whether she would see Alex any minute now. "I guess we'll see whether she knows that it was me or not."

"Inmates! Please make your way to the nearest trash receptacle and head to your work sites." A voice announced over the intercom as more of the guards came into the cafeteria. Piper got up from her seat and picked up her tray.

"I'm gonna head to work, but first I'm gonna walk around and see if I can find Morello. Kid looked like she could use another hug." Nicky said as she got up. "You wanna come with?"

"No, it's fine," Piper answered. "I'll see you in a few minutes," she said, and Nicky threw her tray away and began to jog out of the cafeteria.

"Nichols! No running!" Wanda yelled in a stern voice as she shot Nicky a look from where she was standing near the front of the cafeteria. Nicky slowed her pace and left the cafeteria.

Piper threw her tray away and made her way slowly out of the cafeteria, looking down at the ground as she walked. As she walked through the halls on her way to work, others buzzed past her, and she heard them talking of yesterday's events with Miss Rosa and Vee. Some of them laughed and scoffed and others spoke in a sad tone. Piper felt bad for not paying attention to the current situation, but her mind couldn't seem to focus on much else other than Alex. Piper sped up her walking in hopes of getting to work early so that she could talk to Nicky more before they began working.

As Piper walked, she paid so little attention to where she was going that she neglected to pay attention to the turn in the hall in front of her, and she walked straight into the wall and felt herself falling to the floor. As she landed on her side, she felt a pain in her shoulder and rolled over onto her back as she squinted her eyes in pain. When she opened them, her vision was blurry as she saw a figure looking over her as she tried to gather herself. As she squinted her eyes in an attempt to make out who it was, she began to make out the thick-rimmed glasses, long black hair and a familiar smirk.

_"Guess this is a bad time to say hi."_

Those were the last words Piper heard as she felt herself getting weaker and she felt herself lose consciousness.


	3. Chapter 3

**_Chapter 3_ - There She Goes Again**

As Piper began to open her eyes, she heard the same voice that had rang through her head as she drifted away just moments ago. She pressed her fingers against her temples and winced at the aching in her head as she glanced up at the ceiling. She felt a soft touch on her arm and finally began to pay attention to the words of the person next to her.

"Jesus fuck Piper. I get back in here and within five minutes you've scared me half to death. Can you get up?"

"Nicky, stop. You're starting to sound like Alex..." Piper was still disoriented and knew that her mind was playing tricks on her. In her mind, there was no way that Alex Vause would be speaking to her if she were back inside these walls.

"Jesus Christ, kid. You really hit your head hard," Alex said as she looked around the hallway. "Can we get medical over here?!"

Wanda turned the corner and nearly tripped over Piper as she laid stretched out on the floor. She looked down at Piper sprawled out and Alex crouched down on the floor next to her.

"Jesus Christ, Chapman. You're a spastic one. Get up off the damn floor and get to your worksite," she scoffed as she rolled her eyes at Piper's latest spectacle.

"She's not fucking around," Alex told her in a stern tone. "I saw her fall. I think she's really hurt. Can we get her to medical?"

"Cut the drama, Vause. Medical have already got their hands full with Red and some new inmate with some stupid heart condition," Wanda answered as she rolled her eyes. "Get her up off the floor or I'm writing you both shots." Piper stared up at Wanda and knew that she didn't feel like putting up with more discipline today.

"What the fuck," Alex muttered under her breath and she moved behind Piper's head so she could try to lift her up. "Come on, Piper. You gotta get up." Alex supported Piper's weight and helped her get to her feet. Piper stared back at her once she'd gotten herself together.

"Alex..." she stared at her in awe. "It's really you."

Alex adjusted her glasses and looked back at her. "Yeah," she said and let out a sarcastic chuckle. "Looks like I'm back home."

"Alex, I have-

"Chapman! Vause! Get to your worksites right now or I'm sending you both to SHU." Healy shouted from across the hall.

Alex laughed quietly. "I see he's as cheerful as ever."

Piper's eyes drifted over to Healy and back to Alex. "I have to go... I'll talk to you at dinner." With the way that Alex looked back at her with her half smile and her glasses over her head, Piper wanted nothing more than to hug Alex and to never let her go, but she could feel Healy's eyes on her and she knew exactly how he would react if she were to do that. Piper kept eye contact with her as she began to walk away and make her way to electric. Alex looked at her, her head turned away from Healy, and winked before she disappeared around the corner on her way to laundry.

And just like that, it seemed that Alex Vause had entered back into Piper's life just as quickly as she had nearly disappeared only days ago.

* * *

So this was a shorter chapter but I think it was a good way to introduce Alex back into Piper's life and leave things hanging a bit ;) I appreciate all the views so far and I'd love to everyone's thoughts!


	4. Chapter 4

Ta-daaaa! Here's chapter 4. For some reason I was feeling super creative today and couldn't stop writing. So here ya go :)

**_Chapter 4_ - How Many Prisoners...**

When Piper finally got to electrical, everyone else had already arrived and Luschek shot her a look as she came to her usual seat.

"You're late," Nicky commented as Piper walked over.

"Yeah, long story," Piper said, and she was ready to explain until she was interrupted.

"Chapman! Nichols! I have some work for ya. Over here." Luschek turned around and opened a door on the other side of the room that led to a closet full of junk. He held up a light bulb and flashed a stupid smile. "Change it."

"You've gotta be kidding me," Piper stared at him blankly. He just stared back at her with the same goofy look on his face and waved the light bulb around. Piper rolled her eyes and her and Nicky walked over to the closet.

"Here's your stool. One of you up there at a time, please, we don't need anyone else over in medical," Luschek said as he walked back over to the cage. "Hey! Watson!"

"What?" Watson answered.

"How many prisoners does it take to-

"Man, shut the fuck up!" Watson snapped back at him. Luschek shrugged and looked back at Nicky and Piper, who had gotten up onto the stool and began unscrewing the burnt out lightbulb. Compared to her past electrical work, this was something she could actually do...

* * *

_"Alex!" Piper shouted as sparks flew from the toaster, jumping back frantically from the counter._

_Alex came running into the room, her eyes immediately bugging out from the spectacle. "What the fuck?!" she yelled as she ran to the toaster and quickly unplugged it. She turned around and leaned against the counter facing Piper. "What did you do?!"_

_"I don't know, I was just trying to make a fucking Toaster Streudel and the damn thing exploded on me!"_

_Alex came up to Piper and ran her hands up and down the sides of her arms. "Are you okay?"_

_"Yes," Piper pouted and she laid her head onto Alex's chest._

_Alex laughed sarcastically. "You're a mess Piper," and Piper looked up at her with a sour look on her face. "But you're my mess," Alex said as she kissed her on the forehead._

_"I can fix it," Piper said as she walked over to the counter and stared down through the toaster._

_"Babe, it's a fucking toaster. We can get a new one for $20. You don't have to fix it," she smirked at Piper._

_"No, I want to fix it. I can do it. You don't think I can do it?"_

_"Piper, I don't even know how you would fix a fucking toaster. We've had that thing for a year now. It's probably just worn out," she looked at Piper as if she were crazy._

_"Yeah, well you underestimate me. I'm going to fix this fucking toaster," she said in that innocent, childlike voice that Alex recognized every time Piper started to get frustrated. "Do we have a hot glue gun?"_

_"A glue gun?!" Alex's eyes popped out at her. "Piper you're not gonna fix our toaster with a hot glue gun. Please let me buy a new toaster. You can pick any one you want, just don't kill yourself over a god damn toaster."_

_Piper just stared back at her, waiting, but Alex gave no further response. "Fine," Piper said as she turned around and began to open drawers around the kitchen. "I'll find one myself."_

_"Babe, what are you trying to prove?" Alex asked Piper as she rummaged around the kitchen._

_"I'm trying to prove that I can fix this fucking toaster, Alex," she replied calmly, and let out a little scream as she finally found what she was looking for. "Found it," she said victoriously as she held up the glue gun._

_Alex rolled her eyes. "Fine. If you're gonna do it, make sure it's at least cooled down first," she said as she put her hands over the toaster to check it's temperature. "I don't want you to burn yourself."_

_Piper looked back at her. "Thank you, Alex, but I'm not a child. I can do this," she said excitedly as she peered inside the toaster._

_"Ah! I see it! There's a screw popping out on the inside! I can fix that," she shot Alex a death glare, to which Alex only responded with a wide-eyed stare._

_"Piper you can't fix a screw with a hot glue gun. What do you think's gonna happen next time you try make something in it?" Alex asked her as she put her glasses over her head, but Piper gave no response._

_Piper reached inside the toaster and tried to angle the glue gun so that she could put the screw back in it's place, but it fell out and landed in the bottom of the toaster. "SHIT!" Piper shouted, and she hit the toaster in anger after tossing the glue gun down onto the counter._

_Alex smirked at her. "I told you," she said, laughing quietly. Piper shot her another death glare. "Pipes, it's okay. We'll get another toaster. Let me make you breakfast."_

_Piper just looked back at her with a sour look on her face. Alex put her arms around Piper's waist and brought her closer, lifting up Piper's chin and looking her in the eyes. "You're so cute," she smirked at her, and kissed her softly. "I love you," she said as she began to laugh._

_Piper broke into a small smile and rolled her eyes at her. "I love you too," she said, and kissed Alex back._

* * *

Piper looked back and waited until Luschek wasn't watched then anymore. "Nicky... Alex is here," she said blankly.

"Huh? Already? You're kidding," Nicky answered.

"Nope," Piper said as she reached up to replace the lightbulb. "I walked into a wall and busted my ass and she was the first one I saw when I came to."

"You walked into a wall?" Nicky chuckled. "Nice one, Chapman."

"That's not the point," she responded impatiently. "I thought I was going crazy but it was her. I didn't even get a chance to talk to her because fucking Healy was watching," she gritted her teeth and clenched both her fists in anger, right as the light bulb came falling out of it's socket and broke into two on the floor.

"Ah! Christ, Chapman! That was my only light bulb!" Luschek spazzed from across the room as Nicky began to laugh.

"Sorry," Piper looked back at him.

"Welp, you know what that means," he answered and shot her a look, but Piper didn't respond. "Shots! Shots! Shots! ...for both of you," he shouted as he pumped his fist into the air a few times.

"'ey what the fuck? I didn't even do anything!" Nicky whined back at him.

"Hey! I said shots. Now get back over here and fix another lamp," Luschek said, and the two of them rolled their eyes and came back to their table.

* * *

Back at the library, Poussey was filling the shelves with a pile of books that she'd found laying on one of the desks when Taystee came from around the corner.

"Taystee.." she started, but Taystee broke down in tears before Poussey could continue. Poussey wrapped her tiny arms around her in a hug as tears began to fall from her eyes as well.

"Man, I feel like she fucking hated me and we never got to fix it," Taystee said as she cried on P's shoulder.

"She didn't hate you, T. She couldn't have hated you. You were like, her daughter and shit. She loved you," she told Taystee as she hugged her tighter.

"I didn't even get to say goodbye," she said as she pulled away.

"That's the problem with life. We don't always get to say our goodbyes. People are just.. gone before we even know what's happened. I'm sorry T..." she said as she hugged her again. "I got you. It'll be okay, alright?"

Taystee wiped the tears from her eyes and shook her head. "Man I know she fucked things up around here, and she made a lot of mistakes.. but she was still like my mom, ya know? I didn't have nothin' besides her when I was out there on the streets."

"I know," Poussey responded. "I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry she didn't treat you right P.. I should've never let her tear us apart like that. That was fucked up. I'm sorry."

Poussey shrugged. "Hey, she's your mom. Of course you took her side. It's alright. It's all said and done now," she told her.

"I love ya, girl," Taystee said as she hugged her one last time, and waved as she walked away on her way back to work.

"I love you too..." Poussey said quietly under her breath once she was gone.

* * *

That's it for chapter 4! Sorry that I didn't show any possible drama between Alex and Piper yet, but I threw in my interpretation of the toaster story to make up for it ;) Keep the reviews coming, I appreciate them!


	5. Chapter 5

Told ya I was feeling creative today! Here's the third chapter that I've written in the past 24 hours. I think I put an interesting spin on this one. Also, I really like Wanda and her sass, so I decided to include her in this. You'll probably be seeing a lot of her in this story :) Let me know how you guys like it! Keep the reviews coming!

* * *

_**Chapter 5 **_**- 50 Shades of Crazy Eyes**

After work, Piper was anxious to get to dinner so she could finally get to talk to Alex with a clear mind while her head wasn't spinning. She planned to come clean to Alex immediately about ratting her out, and she knew Alex wouldn't take the news well, but she knew even more so that Alex could read her like a book and would know that Piper was lying if she tried to withhold the truth from her.

Piper thought of this morning when she had told Nicky about her having Polly call Alex's parole officer and how Big Boo had butted in. She remembered looking at the table next to her and seeing Crazy Eyes shoot her a glare, but she had written it off as Suzanne being her usual crazy self. Had she actually heard their conversation? Piper hoped not.

Piper began to walk into the cafeteria, but backed up into the corner when she saw Alex, and hid just behind the corner from where Wanda had dozed off in her chair where she was supposed to be watching the inmates. When Piper walked toward the cafeteria and peeked around the corner, her worst fear became reality. At the table alone with Crazy Eyes was Alex, who was staring back intently at her as Crazy Eyes leaned over the table telling her something in a wide-eyed glare.

In the middle of the confrontation, Nicky walked up to the table, obviously hearing Suzanne's words. Piper could see the irritation on Nicky's face as she yelled at Crazy Eye's to back off and go away, and as she did, she saw Alex look back at Nicky and ask her something, but as Nicky started to explain, Alex got up stormed out of the cafeteria, turning the opposite direction of the corner where Piper had been hiding.

"Alex!" Piper yelled as she chased after her. Alex turned around and looked at her. Why was Alex even giving her the chance to talk? Piper looked her and could see that she was sad. She knew Alex would be pissed but she'd expected her to act with more anger than sadness. "Alex, I'm sorry. Please don't be upset... I hated to turn you in but I-

"You WHAT?" Alex shouted before she could finish. "What the FUCK, Piper?"

"I.. I thought Crazy Eyes just told you," Piper managed to say. She had no idea what was going on.

"She told me that you and Larry were back together. She didn't say anything about you being a fucking traitor!" Alex yelled as she clinched her fists in anger. "Jesus Christ," she murmured under her breath as she walked away and toward the chapel.

Piper felt like an idiot. For the past five minutes she thought Crazy Eyes had been telling Alex her secret, and what she was really doing was spreading lies in an attempt to steer Alex away from Piper.

"Alex! Please!" Piper shouted desperately, following her down the hall. "Alex please wait. Just listen to me."

"Why the fuck should I listen to you? It's your fault I'm stuck in this place for another six fucking months," Alex snapped back as she entered the chapel, which was dark and empty. "Stay the fuck away from me Piper," she said as she reached the front of chapel and leaned against the altar. For a moment, she was silent. But then, Alex did something Piper had almost never seen her do. Alex Vause started to cry.

"Baby... please," Piper started to say, but Alex looked up and interrupted her.

"Don't you dare start that cutesy shit with me. You don't get to play with my heart while you're in here and then have your fucking easy, heterosexual suburban life on the side ready for you the second you get out of here. It doesn't fucking work like that," she snapped at her.

"Alex.. I'm not.. I don't know what Suzanne told you but I'm not with Larry. He fucked Polly. We're over. I wouldn't lie to you about that," she tried to explain to her calmly, but seeing Alex fall apart in front of her, it took everything she had not to cry, too.

"She said you fucked him, Piper," Alex said coldly.

"That's not tr-" Piper started to say, but realized she needed to correct herself. "I started to, but I stopped because he told me in the middle of it that he had slept with somebody else," she told Alex.

Alex didn't respond. She simply put her head in hands and continued to cry.

"I don't love him anymore Alex. When I saw him while I was on furlough, we agreed that it was over for good. And I don't know what it was, but even though I felt like I was closing a chapter of my life, I felt this overwhelming sense of relief. I felt a part of me return that I haven't seen in the longest time... a part of me that only exists when I'm with you. Larry doesn't get me, Alex. He doesn't understand those dark, ugly places of me that I don't want anyone else to see. He doesn't want to see those places. He despises them even more than I do. He fell in love with the clean cut, wide-eyed, tame girl from the suburbs, and when I came here and I saw you again, the more I fell in love with you, I felt myself falling further and further out of love with him. I don't know what the fuck I was thinking Alex. I don't know why I told you that I picked him and I don't know why I believed myself when I said that that was what I wanted. I've spent my entire life running away from you, Alex. I ran from you on that last day I saw you after your mother died, and I kept running as far as I could for the next ten years," she said, and she saw Alex choke up even more at the mention of her mother.

Piper ran a hand through Alex's hair and tucked it behind her ear. "And I ran away from you again when I told you I picked Larry. But I don't wanna run anymore, Alex. I know I'm fucked up. I know I've changed my mind every minute and I know I've put you through hell, and I know I'm a bitch for turning you in... and I'm sorry, Alex... I'm so fucking sorry. But the truth, Alex, is that I don't want to picture myself in a world without you in it. I don't wanna wake up inside these walls not knowing where the hell you are, worrying about your safety. And when I find get out of this fucking place, I don't wanna wake up alone in my bed everyday or with anyone else and not get to see you every single day. I've done enough running, Alex, and I know I fucked up, but I couldn't let you run away from me. I just couldn't do it," she finished, right as Alex began to calm down.

Piper waited, but Alex didn't say anything in response-only continued to lean against the altar with her head buried in her hands. Piper figured that she had said all she needed to say and that Alex needed to be alone, so she began to turn around to walk away, but before she could leave, she felt Alex grab her by the hand. Piper turned back to face her and saw Alex looking at her with her head resting on her hand, her glasses raised above her head and her face wet from tears but her crying finally at a stop.

"I love you so fucking much," Alex said softly.

Piper felt every muscle within her relax as she looked back at Alex, with an overwhelming sense of relief that this woman did not hate her for the rest of her life. Alex raised Piper's arm closer to her and kissed her on the hand.

"I love you too, Alex," she said as Alex pulled her closer and kissed her. It had been their first kiss since the last time Alex had been in prison. The time Piper saw Alex during their trial, the phone calls, the visits from her once she had gotten her on her visitation list... none of that had ever been enough for Piper. She had wanted nothing more than to hold Alex and kiss her until she was breathless, but she hadn't been able to do it for what seemed like an eternity now. As she kissed her now, she felt that eternity fade away as everything seemed to fall back into place and she felt right back at home in Alex's arms just as she had felt before. Only this time without the guilt, the hiding, and the shame of cheating on someone else.

Piper had almost forgotten where they were until suddenly a loud voice reverberated through the chapel.

"CHAPMAN! VAUSE!" the voice startled them both from their kiss, and they quickly pulled apart. When Piper looked to the entrance to the chapel, she was looking back at the worst possible person that could have been looking back at her at this very moment. Officer Healy. "Get the fuck over here," he said in a cold tone of voice, and they both hesitated. "I said, GET OVER HERE!" he shouted once more, and they both complied with his request. As they approached him, he picked up a radio from his pocket and began to talk into it. "Officer Healy here. We need security for transport of two unruly inmates to SHU," he said before returning the radio to his pocket.

"What?!" Alex shouted at him in anger. "You can't do that, you homophobic prick!"

"Alex. Don't say anything to him. He'll just leave you in there even longer," Piper said quietly.

"Don't you say another fucking word to her, Chapman," Healy snapped. "I'm very disappointed in you. You can bet your ass I'll be making another call to your fiancé."

"I don't have a fiancé anymore," Piper snapped back, and she heard Alex let out a small snicker that wasn't loud enough for Healy to hear. Healy stared back at Piper in wide-eyed shock, but before he could say anything, Wanda and O'Neill came around the corner.

"Alright, Chapman. I don't know what you and your friend are in deep shit for, but let's make this easy and I won't put you in hand cuffs," Wanda said in her usual calm but snarky tone.

"Thank you, Wanda," she said quietly as she shot Healy a death glare.

"Pipes! You're just gonna let them take us away like this?!" Alex shouted at her.

"There's nothing you can do about it, Vause," Healy interrupted. "And I suggest you follow your little friend's example and go with Officer O'Neill. Put her in cuffs, O'Neill," he said bitterly.

"Uh... I don't think that's necessary sir. She's not even being physically violent," O'Neill answered him, as he stood there doing nothing. Healy shot him a death glare. "Come on, Vause, I think you and I both know I don't have the strength to get forceful with you," O'Neill said as he scratched himself and winked at her. Alex shuddered but was grateful that she didn't have to be humiliated.

"Yes sir," she said, and she began to follow O'Neill down the hall. Wanda began to follow the two with Piper behind her, but Healy stopped them.

"Wait," he said. "I don't want those two going in there together."

"Oh for Christ's sake, Healy," Wanda snapped at him. "Would ya get over this creepy lesbian thing? In case you haven't noticed, half the women in here are lesbians. Have you never met a lesbian outside of these walls before?" she asked as she stared back at him.

"You heard what I said," Healy said sternly, and he walked out of the chapel and went on his way.

"Christ," Wanda rolled her eyes. "Caputo's gonna have a bitch fit when he finds out about this. Someone needs to fire that lard ass already..." she said, and quickly looked back at Piper. "Don't tell anyone I said that, Chapman or I'll write you enough shots to last you the rest of your time in here."

"I won't," she said quietly. "I agree with you."

"Don't worry about it Chapman. If Nichols didn't land herself in SHU for that Fuck Off competition her and that Large Boo had, your little kiss is hardly news worthy."

Piper laughed. "Um.. I believe it's Big Boo. And... you know about that?"

"Don't sass me, Chapman," Wanda shot back at her. "I know everything that happens in here." She winked at her. "Caputo will have you both out as soon as he gets wind of this. That is, if he's not too busy playing Ring-Around-the-Rosie in his new, big office," she said, rolling her eyes. "Come on, let's go," she said as she led the way out of the chapel.


	6. Chapter 6

**_Chapter 6_ - Sometimes We Go A Little Bit Crazy**

Piper looked down at the ground in shame as she walked through the hall next to Wanda on her way to SHU. As she walked by, she heard whispers and giggles from other inmates, and even heard Nicky ask her what had happened as she passed by, but her anger toward Healy was so strong that she was afraid to even open her mouth right now for fear of saying something that she'd regret.

When she reached SHU, Wanda opened the cell door and motioned for Piper to go inside. "Sorry about your luck Chapman," she said. "I'll get ahold of Caputo as soon as I can." Wanda got distracted as she saw O'Neill pass by her on his way back from dropping Alex off at her cell in SHU, and she quickly closed the door to follow after him.

Piper sighed and leaned against the wall, sliding downward to the floor and sat there, thinking. Piper hated being alone. In her loneliest moments, she found that she had nothing to do but retreat inside her mind, and sometimes, she found that that was an ugly place to be. She much rather preferred spending her time with others to avoid the racing thoughts inside her head, especially ever since she entered Litchfield. She thought about how Alex had seemed to have the same problem at times.

* * *

_"Who's that calling you this late at night?" Polly asked as Piper's phone rang for the third time that night._

_"I don't know. Some number from London," Piper answered her._

_"London?!" Polly exclaimed. "Answer it, Piper. Maybe it's David Beckham."_

_Piper gave her a skeptical look but answered anyway. "Hello?" she answered suspiciously._

_"Piper please don't hang up," a slurred voice begged on the other line._

_"Who is this?" Piper asked._

_"It's.. it's Alex." Piper's guard immediately went up as soon as she heard the words. "Piper, I'm sorry. I'm lonely, Pipes... I didn't mean to make you feel neglected. Please give me another chance, I feel so fucking alone..."_

_"Alex, have you been drinking?" Piper asked._

_"Y-yes... no. Piper, please just listen to me," Piper wasn't used to hearing Alex this vulnerable but she knew it was just the alcohol talking._

_"Alex. I can't help you. I can't do this anymore. You're drunk. Please don't call me again. I can't live that life anymore. It's been three months. It's done. I'm sorry. Goodbye," she hung up quickly._

_"Jesus, Alex? You guys have been over for months," Polly sounded surprised._

_"Yeah. It ended on bad terms. She's taking it hard, I guess," Piper looked away and sipped her wine._

* * *

Piper looked back on that moment now and felt a tinge of regret. Alex had needed her. She'd needed her when Piper had first left on the day that her mother died, and she still needed her three months later. That had been the last time she had heard from Alex until she saw her again years later for the first time at Litchfield. Alex had become nothing but a memory. Now that Alex had become her whole world again, she couldn't imagine keeping her as just a memory.

Back up the hill, things were still in a buzz after the news about Vee. None of the inmates had heard anything about Miss Rosa, but they all suspected the worst after hearing Morello's story of why she had given her the van in the first place.

In the rec room, Pennsatucky sat playing cards with Big Boo at the table. The two had been inseparable ever since Tucky had approached her and asked her more about the "homosexual agenda." Big Boo had been surprised at first, and didn't have much respect for Tucky after hearing all of her thoughts on the matter, but she'd decided to humor her, and over the past few days she found herself growing to like Tucky as a person.

The two were the only ones in the room, and everyone else had either retreated to their bunks to grieve or outside to let off some steam on the track and enjoy the outdoors. Tucky looked outside the windows to the hallway to make sure no one was around, and the only person she saw was Bennett standing in the hallway staring down at the floor, looking as if he was in deep thought.

"Hey, um... Boo?" Tucky started, laying her cards down on the table after taking her turn. She leaned back and crossed her arms.

"Yeah?" Boo answered as she looked through her cards.

"How did you know that you were gay?" Tucky asked her.

Big Boo looked up from her cards, a little bit shocked by Tucky's bluntness. "Well," she began, "it's something I just kinda knew from the start, ya know? Like, I knew it was there, but there was a time when I pushed it away. Even tried to hook up with a few guys," she grimaced. "Yeah, didn't go so well."

"So you can be gay even if you've hooked with guys before?" Tucky asked her.

"Duh," Boo answered her. "Anyone could be gay. You could be gay," Boo said, and immediately burst into a sarcastic fit of laughter as she put her next card down. Tucky was silent and just stared back at her with her arms still crossed.

"Oh my god," Boo's mouth dropped in shock. "You're not.. gay, are you?" she looked at her and waited for an answer. Tucky just looked away from her and used the sleeve of her hoodie to wipe a tear from her eye.

"Tucky! This is a breakthrough," she whispered. "If you're really gay.. I mean, if you're not trying to mess with me, do you know how many people who are gay start out as being homophobes?" Tiffany looked up at her but didn't say anything. "Yeah," Boo said. "They swear up and down that it's an abomination, and inside they're just bottling up all those feelings of hot women in bathing suits or big dudes with their ripped abs and what not."

Tucky shook her head in frustration and looked down as she spoke to Boo. "You know, the last person that I thought was going to be gay was myself," she said with a tone of vulnerability that Boo had never seen in her before. "I don't- ... I can't-" Tucky tried to find the words to say. "How do I change it?" she asked as she looked up at Boo.

"You don't," Boo answered her. "You can't. There's nothing wrong it."

"But The Lord says-

"Man wrote the Bible, Tucky. A man wrote all of those things. And from what I remember, you said yourself that letting men be in charge of your life hasn't gone well for you. So why should let some man from 2,000 years ago tell you that who you are is wrong?"

Tucky put her elbows up on the table and wiped the tears from her eyes. "I guess I never thought about it like that before," she said, and they were both silent for a minute.

"Geez," Big Boo sighed. "You sure know how to drop a bomb, kid. I'm proud of you."

"Thanks," Tucky said with a smile. "Just don't tell nobody, okay?" she gave Big Boo a serious look.

Big Boo held both her hands up. "Hey, your secret's safe with me."

"Good," Tucky nodded. "Now let's finish this game cause I'm about to kick your ass," she laughed as she picked up her cards again.

Outside the rec room, Bennett heard his radio go off. "Hey John, can I get you to cover for me in the yard, I'm on my way back up from SHU," he heard Wanda say.

"Yeah, no problem," he answered. He turned around. "Warren. I need you to come with me to the yard."

Crouched against the wall next to the open door to the rec room in wide eyed amazement, there sat Suzanne Warren-her head intently leaned as close as she could get to the door to hear the conversation that had been going on behind her for the past five minutes. She sat unresponsive, and remained still as she continued to listen for anything else that Tucky and Big Boo might say.

Bennett sighed and looked around. "Inmate. Please come with me," he asked in the kindest voice he could, though he was getting impatient. Caputo had asked him to keep an eye on Crazy Eyes, as he was worried about her having a possible breakdown after Vee's sudden death.

Crazy Eyes seemed to snap out of her trance and looked up at Bennett. "Lady Locksley says we don't take orders," she said with her usual crazy stare.

"Yeah," Bennett said as he rolled his eyes. "Lady Locksley told me that she needs you out in the yard," he felt like an idiot, but he figured that playing along with her crazy would be the best way to avoid conflict since he was the only guard around at the moment.

"Ohhhh!" Suzanne said in amusement. "Well we must follow Lady Locksley's wishes! But first we must check for the others." Crazy Eyes got onto all fours and began to crawl in the direction of the prison yard.

"Inma-" Bennett began to try and correct her so that she would get up on two feet, but he decided to pick his battles wisely. Sometimes you just can't fight crazy.

* * *

This chapter was a bit personal for me to write as I recently realized over the past six months or so that I'm gay myself. My sister is a huge fan of OITNB as well, and after seeing Pennsatucky grow closer to Big Boo and seem to become more open-minded toward the end of season 2, she mentioned "I hope in season 3 they reveal that Tucky is gay. I think she could be." And after thinking about it, I thought that that would be an excellent and really interesting twist to the story. I think we all know that a lot of the time, homophobes can just be closeted gays in denial, and I know more than anyone that denial sucks. I also think that even though Pennsatucky started out as being a bit wacky, I've always liked her and I think deep down she's a good person, and I think we got to see more of that in season 2, for sure.

Anyway, there's my little personal connection to this chapter. I know this is a bombshell but hopefully it's one that everyone will enjoy! Let me know. I look forward to continuing this story and sharing more of my ideas with you guys.


	7. Chapter 7

_**Chapter 7 **_**- Dammit**

Piper laid flat on the floor staring at the ceiling, wondering how long it had been since Wanda had left and she'd been abandoned here to suffer her unfair punishment. She'd tried to keep her attention on the passing of time for awhile, but as her mind started to wonder, she found herself getting distracted and now she had completely lost any concept of time.

She looked to her left and began to pick at the paint on the walls out of sheer boredom. Next to her was an air vent, and it reminded her of her first time in SHU when she had been hearing things and held an entire conversation with an imaginary voice. Or had she really been imagining it? Piper still wasn't sure. When you spent long enough in this empty room, your mind began to show you things that you can't even begin to understand.

As she sat trapped within her thoughts, Piper could feel herself hearing things again, as she heard a voice reverberate through the vent like before, but this time, it was singing.

_All our times have come, here but now they're gone..._

Well, this is okay, Piper thought. At least if she was going to be stuck in here hallucinating and losing her mind, she got music this time. She wondered how Alex was doing and whether Healy had put her in any isolation cell as far as possible from Piper to keep them from hearing each other.

_Come on, baby, don't fear the reaper..._

_Baby take my hand..._

Great, Piper thought. If she was going to hallucinate music, why couldn't she be hallucinating something less morbid? This is depressing as hell, Piper thought to herself. And then Piper realized that the words that she was hearing through the vent were part of a song that she had never even heard in her life. How could she be hallucinating?

She propped herself up on the floor and leaned in closer to the vent to listen. Don't be crazy, Piper, she thought to herself. You almost lost your mind on your first time in here.

_La la la la la..._

_Love of two is one..._

With her head leaned in closer, Piper immediately recognized the voice.

Alex.

_Here, but now th-_

"Alex!" she tried in her loudest whisper possible, for fear that Healy might be lurking around and hear her trying to communicate with her. The singing stopped. "Alex! Can you hear me?"

"Pipes?"

"Oh my god, Alex, thank god," Piper sighed. "I thought I was losing my fucking mind." She heard Alex chuckle.

"Well, some might argue that you already did that a long time ago," Alex said sarcastically. "Which cell are you in?"

"The first one when you walk in on the left," Piper said. "What about you?"

Alex laughed. "The first one on the right," she answered. "They didn't try very hard to keep us apart."

"Jesus Christ," Piper said in anger. "How long are they gonna keep us in here? It's been hours."

Alex started to laugh even more. "Piper, it's been thirty minutes."

"How could you even know that?" Piper asked her.

"I've been singing to myself from the moment I got in here to pass the time," she said. "I've only made it through like, six songs. So your sense of time needs a reality check, kid." Piper could picture the smirk on Alex's face as she spoke to her.

"God..." Piper sighed, exasperated. "This isn't even fair. Wanda said herself that if Nicky didn't get in trouble for competition against Big Boo with how many girls she could hook up with, there's no reason we should be in here." She heard Alex burst into laughter.

"They had a fucking competition?" she asked. "Oh my god," Alex laughed again as she pulled off her glasses and attempted to clean them on her shirt.

Piper thought of Alex and how Nicky had seemed to become attracted to her right before Piper got locked into SHU for the incident with Pennsatucky. She felt a tugging in her stomach and an overwhelming sense of jealousy. She knew Alex hadn't stopped by to visit Nicky after she'd gotten out, but she didn't know what could have happened between them during the month that she spent in SHU. She knew it wasn't fair for her to be so jealous when she had been with Larry during her entire relationship with Alex in prison back then, but it still nagged in the back of her mind.

"Pipes?" Alex put her glasses over her head and laid on her stomach so she could be closer to the vent to hear her. "You got quiet. What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Piper answered, but she knew better than anyone that, even from another room, communicating through a stupid air vent, Alex Vause could read her like a book.

"Piper," she chuckled softly. "I can tell when something's bothering you. Tell me what's wrong," she said patiently.

"It's just.. I hope we get out of here soon," Piper didn't feel like possibly starting an argument with Alex, especially when she was already upset about being separated from her in the first place.

"Yeah," Alex said as she ran her fingers along the vent. "Me too." There was a moment of silence. "Now do you wanna tell me what's really on your mind?"

Shit, Piper thought. I can't hide anything from this woman. "Fine," she said with a sigh. "Did you ever have feelings for Nicky?"

Another moment of silence. "Why do you ask that?" Alex responded.

"Please just answer the question, Al," Piper pleaded.

"Yes," Alex said with a sigh.

Piper wanted to throw up. She jumped up from the ground and paced the room, her hands tugging at her hair, and finally collected herself and leaned her head against the wall.

"Piper..."

"Don't," Piper stopped her. "I don't want to hear it."

"Piper you can't be mad at me for falling for Nicky when you were in love with Larry the entire time we were together in this place," Alex snapped.

Piper felt her blood start to boil. "What does Larry have to do with any of this? He was my fucking fiancé, Alex. You don't even know Nicky. You don't even know her, Alex. All you cared about was finding someone to fuck around with after I left you," she said as she started to raise her voice.

"So what is this about? You being able to do whatever the hell you want while I have to sit by the sidelines and wait for you to come around every time you fuck up? Because if I did that, I'd be doing a hell of a lot of waiting, Piper," Alex clenched her fists at her sides as she sat against the wall.

"Oh, you know what, excuse me for not being perfect. Sorry I can't be your perfect girlfriend and fall for you every single time you think you've found the right words to say," Piper knelt down to the vent, as if somehow being closer would make her anger resonate to Alex even more.

"Is that what you think? That I expect you to be perfect? Cause if that's what you think of me, then you don't know me in the slightest," Alex couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"Well, that's sure what it sounds like," Piper said back. "What the hell do you want from me, Alex? We didn't speak for ten years. I moved on because I had to. I couldn't look at myself in the mirror everyday and know that I was your drug mule."

"So now you think it was all just about the drugs? As if I never cared about you at all? That's _great_, Piper. Just great. That's an all time low for you," Alex was infuriated at Piper's suggestion but at the same time, she wanted to cry.

"Please just stop. Stop putting words in my mouth," Piper snapped back.

"That's what you said. You said you were my fucking drug mule, Piper," Alex tried to hold back her tears and to not show them boiling through the surface through her voice.

"The point is that I found someone who wasn't going to fuck up my life, Alex. I moved on and found someone who wasn't asking to be thrown in prison. And I thought that by doing that, I'd be free of that life forever," Piper hadn't ever said any of these things to Alex. She felt as if she was spewing out everything that she'd kept bottled up. Everything that she wanted to say the moment she saw Alex on that first week at Litchfield... and she didn't know why it took this long to come out, but she felt so caught up in her anger that she couldn't stop herself. "So quit expecting me erase all of that. Quit acting surprised that I had a life outside of you, Alex, because I had one, and it wasn't the hell hole that this place is."

Alex broke down into tears but managed to stay quiet. Piper got up and walked over to the end against wall and threw herself into it. Alex waited to see if Piper was going to say anything else, and prayed that the answer was no.

"I'm sorry... I'm sorry..." she said to herself, not near loud enough for Piper to hear from her cell.

* * *

One very helpful reviewer, Abbledy, said it would be nice to see a little more angst between Piper and Alex, and I totally agreed, so here is the result! Piper and Alex have a very messed up relationship and a big history together that leaves a lot to work with in a story, so things aren't going to be just peachy all of the time! That's real life for ya. Even though this was a bit heartbreaking to write because of my soft spot for Alex, I think it's interesting to see this new vulnerable side of Alex that we've never really seen before. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter!

Also, thanks so much for all your kind words on my coming out. It's been a long road and I've struggled with it a lot over the last few months, but with LGBT Pride month going on right now, I feel very supported. I went to my first drag show the other day to see one of the queens from RuPaul's and it was my first experience in a gay bar. I've never felt so at home in a totally new place in my whole life! The gay community is a wonderful thing, for sure.

Thanks for all the reviews! I love hearing from you!


	8. Chapter 8

**_Chapter 8 _- It's A Gay Thing**

Nicky sat on Lorna's bunk flipping through one of her old magazines. "Ya know, I don't get why people read this garbage, but these girls in here sure have nice tits," she said as she looked down at Morello, who was sitting on the floor beside her bunk.

"That reminds me of this one time I went swimming with my sister," Morello started in her thick accent. Nicky could tell a goofy story was on it's way. "Ya know, we were both in elementary school, not quite past that awkward training bra stage, you know what I mean? Ok, so we're turning around to head back to the pool after buying some snacks, and right as we turn around, we see this biiiiig white girl at the top of the diving board. Her breasts were.. pretty good size. Probably about a V cup, ya know..."

Nicky was tempted to correct Morello at her obvious misunderstanding in bra size measurements, but instead she let her continue. "So anyway, she jumped off the diving board, and in mid-air, her top comes flying off, and me and my sister's jaws both dropped, and I swear to you, her boobs touched the water before her feet had even gotten there... and she was vertical."

Nicky sat and waited to see if that was all of Morello's story. Every time Morello told her a new story, she felt like she was in an episode of the Golden Girls listening to one of Rose's stories about her adventures in St. Olaf. The only difference was that Morello's stories usually didn't include cows, and there was most certainly no cheesecake to distract her from the hilarity of it all.

"You're an oddball, kid," Nicky told her as she returned to Morello's magazine to scope out more girls. "But I kinda like ya anyway."

Morello smiled and looked up when she heard the sound of quiet footsteps, and she saw Norma peer around the corner and begin to toss a handful of Nerds candies into the air toward Nicky.

"Hey Nicky," Morello said. "She's sending the Desert Storm for you," she smiled at her.

"Huh? Aw geez, kid. It's the Quiet Storm," she corrected her as she got up.

Morello shrugged and picked up the magazine that Nicky had left behind.

Norma led Nicky to Red and Piper's bunk in her usual silence. Red had been free to have as many visitors in her bunk as she wanted now that Piper was temporarily gone. She motioned for Nicky to sit down on Piper's bed. "Have a seat."

"What's up, ma?" Nicky asked her.

"We have to talk about what happened," Red told her.

"Okay," Nicky said.

"Lorna told me that you confronted Vee," Red said.

"Well yeah," Nicky responded. "Someone had to. I was really worried about you Red. I thought you might die in there," she said as she tried to stop herself from crying.

"I know," Red said as tears welled up in her eyes. "Thank you for caring about me. You've always done that. That's more than I can say for some of the others."

"I'm sorry about Boo, Red," Nicky said. "I know you liked her. I didn't think she'd be the one to rat you out like that."

"Neither did I," Red said as she looked across the room in anger. "You've always got to keep an eye out for yourself... cause you never know who's going to stab you in the back when all you've ever done is scratch theirs."

"Y'know, Vee still has a stash in one of the vents in the laundry room," Nicky told her.

"What?" Red got up from her bed, her eyes wide with shock.

"Yeah, me and Boo were trying to get it out of there but then all that shit started to go down with Vee and Rosa," Nicky said.

"Do you know what this means?" Red asked her as she leaned closer to Nicky.

"...no," Nicky said cluelessly. "I don't."

"This means revenge," Red said as she started to stand up.

"Wha? Like what?"

"Nicky. It's Boo's fault that Vee found out about how I was smuggling in the first place," she explained. "I can't trust her anymore."

"Oh come on, Red," Nicky said. "It was a one time thing. That was her first strike. Give her another chance."

"Some people don't deserve second chances, Nicky," she whispered. "This is different from what Tricia did. She stabbed me in the back."

"Aw geez... alright, so what are you gonna do?"

"I'm not gonna do anything," Red said. "You're gonna go get those drugs..."

"Ok. And?" Nicky asked.

"You're going to hide them in her bunk for the guards to find during the next inspection."

"Huh?!" Nicky exclaimed. "Red... that's cruel," she protested. "I mean, she'll get extra time on her sentence for that. That's crossing the line."

"Do you know how many times I've crossed the line for you?" Red said quietly. "You'll do it."

Nicky sighed. She knew that when Red wanted something, there was no protesting it. You did what you had to do.

* * *

"Hey, Mr. Healy," Tucky called as she walked past his office door.

"Doggett," he greeted her. "Nice to see you. Why don't you have a seat?"

Tucky walked in and sat across from him in her usual spot. "How's it goin'?"

"Can't complain," he answered. "How about yourself? Anything I should know about?"

"I did what you asked me to do, sir," she said with a devilish grin on her face. "You know... the lesbian thing."

Healy took off his glasses and looked at her. "You did? How did it go?"

"She believed it," Pennsatucky said. "She thought I was... gay and stuff."

"That's great," Healy said. "Now Doggett. I'm gonna need you to do a lot of stuff that is out of your comfort zone, but I want you to know that this is all for a good cause."

Tucky nodded.

"Now, you're gonna have to keep up this act, and let the others fall for it as well," he said. "Can you do that?"

"Yes, sir, Officer Healy," she said with determination.

"Good," he nodded. "I have a lot to do but I'll meet with you again later this week. Thanks for your time. Take care, Doggett," he said as he returned to the pile of paperwork on his desk.

Pennsatucky got up and waved as she walked out the door. Everything was going just as planned.

* * *

Bennett stood outside in the yard next to Wanda, who had returned from SHU.

"How'd it go with Crazy?" Wanda asked him.

"Huh?" he asked, as he'd been completely distracted by his own thoughts on the entire situation with Daya and the baby. "Oh, Warren. She's still acting weird," he said.

"That one's always weird," Wanda said. "No amount of psych is ever gonna fix that much crazy. Where's she at anyway?"

"Over there on the track. Said that she had to go for a walk with Lady Locksleigh,"

"It's Locksley, Bennett," Wanda scoffed.

"Right," he said, and they both looked over to the track, where Crazy Eyes was pacing around all over the place. Over in the center of the track, there was Leanne and her partner in crime, Angie, singing the same songs they had been singing a few days ago in the laundry room.

"Stop, don't talk to me, loser, lame ass, wanna be!" Angie sang in Crazy Eyes' direction.

"For the last time, it's _boy!_" Leanne snapped at her.

"Whatever," Angie said, rolling her eyes. "Does it matter? Either way, she's lame," she said with a laugh, and they both started to mock Suzanne as she paced around the track.

"Hey Warren!" Leanne shouted. "Looking for your Dandelion?" she said, and the two of them burst into laughter.

"Hey," Angie said. "I found her!" she said, pulling up a dandelion from the ground.

"Ahaha! Let's go give it to her!" Leanne said, and she ran over to Suzanne. "Here's your Dandelion, Crazy Eyes. She finally came up from SHU with her _gay _girlfriend," she said as she burst into more laughter.

Suzanne stared back at them with that same wide-eyed look. "Nuh uh uh!" she protested. "We don't like Dandelion anymore. Me thinks we like Doggett... she's playing for the soccer team now," she said, obviously unaware of her mistake in the correct usage of slang.

"What the hell is she talking about, Leanne?"

"What the hell is the soccer league, Crazy Ass?" Leanne asked with a giggle.

"_Gaaaaaaay!_" Suzanne shouted. "Our friend Tiffany is gay!" she yelled as she leaned in closer to Leanne.

"What the hell?" Angie turned to Leanne. "Is that why she got that dyke haircut?" she asked her.

"Holy shit," Leanne said in shock. They stared at each other in horror. "TUCKY'S GAY?!" she shouted. The two of them began to let out a high-pitched scream of terror.

"Oh, for God's sake," Wanda said as she saw the outburst going on in the track. "What is it now? I really don't feel like driving down the damn hill again," she said.

"Should we go over there and see what's going on?" Bennett asked, concerned.

"No, are you kidding? That's a triangle of crazy you're looking at over there. I'm not going near those nutjobs," she said. "Just let them yell and pretend you don't hear it."

* * *

When Piper woke up, it took a minute before she remembered where she was and what had happened just before she had dozed off in a fit of anger. She had no idea how long she had been asleep or what time of the day it was. As she became more alert, she remembered the things she had said to Alex and the way she had let out all the frustration toward Alex that she had bottled up for so long, and she immediately wanted to kick herself for losing her self control. She paced the room for a minutes trying to figure out how the hell she was going to get Alex to forgive her for the horrible things she said. She had collapsed on the bed and ended the conversation before Alex had even responded to most of what she said, so she wasn't sure to expect. After a few minutes of trying to collect herself, she laid down on the floor and leaned toward the vent.

"Alex..."

Silence.

"Alex, please," Piper pleaded. "I'm sorry. I feel like such an asshole. You were right, Alex. I was being unrealistic. And I know there's nothing going on between you and Nicky. I just.. I get scared sometimes of losing you. You're all I have left," she said, and waited for a reply.

More silence.

"Alex, please don't do this. I'm really sorry," Piper was already miserable from being in isolation. She didn't know if she would be able to cope with Alex giving her the silent treatment.

She waited. Nothing. She groaned and put her head in her hands. _How could I be so fucking stupid_, she thought. _I'm such an ass._

She wasn't sure how much time had passed when she made attempt after attempt to try to communicate with Alex through the vent and continued to receive silence, and she didn't stop trying. But with each attempt that got no response, she felt herself losing her mind a bit more, and she slowly felt herself fall into the same dark place she had been on her first time in SHU. Desperation and dread.

* * *

"I'm trying to make things easy for you, Vause," Healy said as Alex Vause sat across from him in his office.

Alex smirked. "Is that so?"

"Yes," he said, placing his glasses on the desk and putting his hands in his lap. "I let you out of SHU because I know you have it in you somewhere to serve the remainder of your time here peacefully... if you just leave Chapman alone."

"And how does this concern you?" she asked.

"She's confused, Vause," Healy protested. "She doesn't know what she wants."

"You don't know Piper," Alex snapped. "Stop acting like you know her. You don't know a fucking thing."

"I've seen it before, Vause," he said. "These women... they come to prison, and they live this homosexual lifestyle, and they return to their husbands at home and they stop being gay. I'm trying to help you."

"You don't care about me," Alex said. "I don't believe you for a second."

Healy sighed.

"You're full of shit," she told him.

"I'm going to have a talk with Chapman when she returns from SHU. I'm hoping she has more common sense than you, but from what I've seen in the past, I'm not expecting much."

"Can I leave now?" Alex asked him.

Healy decided to give up. "Yes, you can go."

"Good," Alex said, rolling her eyes and she got up and left his office, slamming the door behind her.

As she walked back toward her bunk, she ran into the usual familiar faces. Sophia... Yoga Jones... Taystee... all going about their usual activities.

She had almost made it to her bunk in the ghetto when she saw Nicky outside in the yard, and decided to go join her. She didn't care about what Piper had said before about Nicky. She didn't even have feelings for Nicky anymore, and if Piper was going to be jealous and overbearing, then so be it. She wasn't here right now to do it anyway.

As she approached Nicky, she stopped dead in her tracks as she saw the person Nicky was talking to.

Thin frame. Brown, shoulder length hair. Boisterous laugh. Clad in orange.

Sylvie.

* * *

Wooooo-eee! Welp, that oughta throw you guys for a loop ;) I hope you like it! Gotta keep things interesting.

Also, someone asked what the name of the song that Alex was singing in the last chapter was, and it's "Don't Fear the Reaper" by Blue Oyster Cult. It was playing in the end of the finale when Rosa was driving the van, and I thought it'd be special to pick that song for Alex to sing since it was playing during such a huge/important part of the show.

One more thing... I hope you all enjoyed Leanne and Angie as much as I did in this chapter. I think they're hilarious in the show. Their immaturity combined with them not being too bright makes for some pretty funny dialogue, so I tried to have the same effect here with them and I could totally picture them freaking out like that if this were to happen in the show.

Let me know what you guys think of this chapter! :)


	9. Chapter 9

**_Chapter_**** 9** - Bad Luck

Holy shit, Alex thought. Well, this is the worst possible scenario that could've happened. It was bad enough to end up back here in the first place. Next, Piper loses her shit and goes psycho crazy jealous girlfriend. And now, lo and behold, here comes Sylvie into the picture to give more ammunition to that jealous girlfriend issue.

Alex decided she didn't wanted to even deal with the situation right now. If she could have it her way, she would choose to avoid Sylvie entirely and somehow for her presence to go unnoticed to her. She knew that that was in no way possible since everyone at Litchfield knew everybody. But for the time being she didn't even want to begin to deal with it. Not with all this stuff with Piper on her mind.

So she turned around to go back inside. Quickly. She saw Wanda standing against the wall of the building and knew better than to run and risk having her yell out her name to correct her. She could just picture what would happen if Wanda were to yell "Vause!" with Sylvie right within earshot. Sure, it had been 10 years, but she had no doubt that Sylvie would remember her anyway.

As she walked as fast as possible back into the building, the next possible worst thing happened.

"Hey, Vause!" Nicky shouted. "Over here!"

Fuck, she thought. Just keep walking, Alex.

She didn't stop.

"Vause! Where's Chapman?" Nicky called for her again. Alex just continued walking until she was back into the safety of the indoors away from the crazy, and decided to retreat to her bunk.

When she got there, she threw her glasses on her table and collapsed on the bed, cursing to herself over the turn of events and wondering how the hell she was going to keep Piper calm.

I'm not going to tell her, she thought. I can do that. I'll just continue to ignore Sylvie and pretend I don't even know her.

She prayed that Nicky would work her magic on Sylvie and that Sylvie would be so distracted hooking up with her that she wouldn't even notice that she was sharing a sentence with her ex-girlfriend.

Alex got to thinking, and she began to think that this must have been the way that Piper felt when she realized that the two of them were here together. She laughed to herself and wondered which was worse-a crazy ex-girlfriend, or a drug smuggling ex-girlfriend. She thought to herself that the drug smuggling ex-girlfriend was the better of the two, but she knew that probably sounded like a stretch. Either way, she knew Sylvie was a psycho bitch and she couldn't stand the thought of her jeopardizing her relationship with Piper.

Things obviously ended badly with Sylvie. I mean, there wasn't really any way things could end in a civil way when your girlfriend-at-the-time walks in on you having sex with another woman. She's been able to calm Sylvie down after Piper left in a fit of anger and shock after being punched in the face, but their relationship after that was short-lived because Alex had already started to fall for Piper. Sylvie had been pissed. She flooded Alex's phone with calls and left Piper ominous voicemails.

I know what you did, bitch, and I want you to know that I know. At the time it had been so ridiculous that at a certain point, Alex just had to laugh. They'd dated on and off for about six months, and Sylvie had been living with Alex for a month when they broke up. Alex hadn't been the best at relationships, but now she attributed a lot of that to the fact that she had been with someone entirely too needy and clingy. Once she began seeing Piper right after Sylvie, things had been less turbulent. For awhile, anyway.

Alex had almost began to drift into sleep with her thoughts buzzing when she was interrupted.

"Alex..."

Alex's eyes jumped open. It was Piper, of course. Alex immediately closed her eyes again and sighed.

"Al, I'm sorry," she said as she walked closer to Alex's bed and sat next to where she was laying. "I'm a bitch. I'm a horrible fucking person and I don't know why I said those terrible things. I just... I don't even fucking know. You know how I get sometimes. This place brings out the worst in me. Those things I said... I swear I didn't mean them, Alex."

"You sure sounded like you meant it," Alex responded.

"I don't know what I was thinking, Al. I'm sorry," she said as she rested a hand on Alex's leg. "I know both of our lives have been flipped upside down by this whole thing but the one thing that I wouldn't change about any of it is you. I really mean that. I'm sorry for being such a shitty fucking person in there and I wish I could take it back."

"I just don't see why you flip out about Nicky when I've been more than patient with the whole thing with you and Larry. I mean he was your fiancé for God's sake. You were having sex with him just a couple weeks ago. Me and Nicky had a short fling and it's been over for months now. You had no reason to flip out like that, Piper. It was really fucking stupid," she said, more so hurt than angry.

"I know," Piper sighed. "I know. I'm sorry. The last thing I ever wanna do is hurt you." There was an awkward silence. "And I know I've done a shitty job of doing that so far."

"Yeah," Alex said. "I'd say so."

Piper crawled into the space next to Alex on her bed and laid down to face her. She didn't know why, but Piper always thought that Alex somehow looked more vulnerable with her glasses off. As she looked at her now, she felt like she was seeing a whole new type of vulnerability-one caused by pain, and it pained her to see it.

She ran a hand through Alex's hair, tucking a strand behind her ear and grabbed her hand. "I'm sorry baby," she said softly. "I really am. I don't wanna lose you. You're all I have."

Alex looked back at her but didn't say anything.

"You're all I have, and you're the only thing I would ever want or need anyway," Piper told her.

Alex sighed and wiped the tears from her eyes.

"I don't know why you've put up with my bullshit for this long," Piper said.

Alex grabbed her hand and squeezed it. "Because I heart you."

Piper smiled. "I heart you too," she said as she leaned in to kiss her.

"Hey, not-lesbians!" A familiar voice called. Nicky.

Alex groaned and broke their kiss, turning around to face Nicky.

"What the hell, Vause? I called for you while I was out in the yard. You getting too old to hear now?" Nicky taunted her.

"Must be," Alex said. "I didn't even see you."

"Ha. Well, there's this new inmate, sh-

"Hey I'm thinking of heading over to the library," Alex interrupted, desperate to keep Nicky from saying Sylvie's name. "Piper, do you wanna come with me?"

"I don't know, I think I'll stay here," Piper said as she stretched out. "I'm kinda tired."

"Well it might be a good idea to switch over to your bunk before falling asleep. Wouldn't want a guard catch you in the bed of your lesbian lover," Nicky teased.

Piper snickered. She secretly hated to leave Alex's bunk because here, laying on Alex's pillow and covered in her sheets, she could smell Alex's scent and always felt close to her. She preferred that over her own boring bed.

"Fine," she sighed, dragging herself out of Alex's bed.

Alex chuckled and winked at her. "I love you babe," she said quietly since Wanda was within earshot.

"Love you too," Piper said as she stroked her hand, walking away.

Nicky made a silly face. "Ick," she teased. "Get a room."

"Shut the fuck up," Alex laughed. "Let's go," she said, desperate to get away before Nicky made any other mention of Sylvie.

* * *

I feel like this wasn't my strongest chapter but I was eager to get the next chapter out and I've had a lot going on recently so my mind is a bit foggy. Hopefully this is still good for you guys! I appreciate all the support!


End file.
